Don't Be Sorry
by WeBuiltThePyramids
Summary: This is what happens when I have a dream about Walter proposing to Paige and then I wake up and it's not real (yet).


**(I know I said in my earlier A/N that I may not update again until Christmas – but of course that was just in reference to The Sound of a Cyclone. I'm always prone to writing oneshots!)**

 **So when I was on Prozac, I never had dreams. On Lexapro, I have extremely vivid ones. And they don't typically fade away when I wake up. Sometimes that is terrifying because I dream about conversations with coworkers and friends and I have no idea if I actually had that conversation or not.**

 **Sometimes it's just frustrating because I dream about Walter proposing to Paige on her birthday and her being so emotional about it and then I wake up and I'm sad because it didn't happen. But that's what fanfic is for, right?** **So have this probably - too - sappy, probably - was - better - in - my - subconscious oneshot.**

* * *

"I'm going to head out," Cabe said, only a few minutes after Happy and Toby had departed. "Allie is still getting over that flu that was going around last month, and I know the longer I stay the more she's gonna feel guilty that she wasn't able to be here." He put his arm around Paige's shoulders and gave her an affectionate smile. "Happy birthday, Kid."

"Thank you, Cabe," she said, patting the hand that was resting on her shoulder. "Tell Allie I hope she's feeling better soon."

"I will." Cabe looked toward Sylvester. "You want a lift home?"

"That would be great," he said. "I have to be up early for a…"

"Patty?" Paige asked.

"Yeah. Something to do with Patty. I should probably check my e – mail for her reminder so I know specifically what this is about."

"I thought you had an eidetic memory?" Cabe teased.

"She sends a _lot_ of e – mails."

"Grab your bag," Cabe said, gesturing toward Sylvester's desk. He walked over to Walter.

"Did you put it under the couch?" He asked quietly.

"I did," Cabe said, glancing toward Paige, who was laughing at something Ralph was saying. Turning back to Walter, Cabe gave him a smile. "You're on, Walt."

Walter smiled back nervously. "Yeah."

"Bye, guys!" Sylvester said enthusiastically, waving as he and Cabe headed for the door. "Happy birthday, Paige!" He turned his body so Paige couldn't see his face, looked at Walter, and winked.

Walter shook his head. Although to the team's credit, they had all known for a week at this point and Paige still seemed to have no clue.

"Today was a lot of fun, wasn't it, Mom?" Ralph asked, putting his hand on his mother's knee as she sat on the edge of the table.

"It was. It was amazing. My boys are amazing." She smiled at him, then at Walter. "Really, you guys. I can't believe you worked together to make this happen."

"Hey now," Walter said, pretending to be offended. "Are you saying your boys can't work together?"

Paige rolled her eyes playfully. "Can you just understand that it's a compliment, please?"

Walter winked at Ralph. He knew Paige took it as a reference to what she had just said. But Ralph, after winking back, yawned and then looked up at his mother. "I'm gonna go get a drink of water."

"There should be more cold bottles in the fridge," she said, patting his hair.

Walter watched him trot off, then walked over toward the couch, picking up a soda can that Happy had left there on purpose. He dropped it in the trash bin next to the coat rack, and lingered, standing there with his hands casually in his pockets.

His back was to Paige, but he could hear her lightly walk across the garage and smiled when she slid her arms around his stomach, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Hey."

He placed his hands over hers where they rested on his stomach. "Hey."

She turned her head and kissed his neck. "Thank you for a wonderful day."

He turned so he was facing her, placing his hands on her hips. "You don't deserve anything less."

"Hmmm." She wrapped her hand around his shirt. "I'm so lucky." She pulled him closer, putting her lips on his and sighing when he stroked her lips with his tongue. Walter curled his arms around her, smiling into the kiss, shifting their position just slightly to bump the coffee table, where the pen Toby had perched there earlier fell off and rolled under the couch.

"Oops," Walter said, pulling back slightly. "I dropped…something…"

Paige smoothed out her hair, not seeming thrown off. "Oh, okay."

Paige stepped back as Walter dropped down, reaching underneath the couch. It occurred to him that Ferret Bueller may have found the box and run off with it. But it was only a few seconds of feeling around before he located it. He glanced up. Paige didn't look like she suspected anything.

Perfect. He drew the box out and shifted until he was propped up on his knee, and waited for her to look at him. In the few seconds it took her to glance down, he found it incredibly difficult to not break out into a huge grin.

Then she looked down, her eyes just flicking toward him, her mouth opening to say "do you need any help fin…"

She trailed off, her eyebrows slowly lifting. Walter watched the subtle changes on her face as she processed what he was doing. When she spoke, her voice was barely a whisper. "Wal…"

"Paige," Walter said, his voice sounding surprisingly confident considering how nervous he had been all day. "I am a genius. I know a lot about a lot of things. But you are both the thing I'm most and least sure about. Most because I know I love you and I know I always will. And least because you continue to surprise me, all the time, always for the better. And I want…" he paused to take a breath, feeling himself begin to choke up at the look on her face, how she smiled and put her hands over her mouth. "And I want spend the rest of my life trying to do the same for you." He drew in another breath, a slightly shakier one, as he opened the box, watching her bend slightly at the waist at the sight of the ring. "Will you marry me?"

She bent again, more this time, her hands now completely covering her face, and he heard a sound that was recognized as crying. Walter hurriedly got to his feet, closing the small gap between them and pulling her into his arms. She wrapped hers around his neck, burying her head. "Oh my God," she said, clinging to him. "Oh my God." She lifted her head, her eyes bright, and Walter brushed a tear from her cheek before kissing her. When they broke apart, she looked down at the box he still held in his hand. "It's beautiful," she said, touching it with the tip of her index finger. She looked back up at him, putting her hand on the side of his neck, smiling for another moment before she leaned back against him, her body shaking as she cried.

Walter felt her arms tight around him, and he curled his back around hers, rocking her gently and kissing her hair. He stayed that way a minute or two, and then tipped his head, his lips near her ear. "Hey," he said teasingly, "I'm pretty sure you're crying because you're happy, but you haven't actually given me an answer."

She lifted her head, letting out a giggle. "Yes, Walter," she said, nodding, another tear rolling down her cheek. "Yes, I'll marry you. I'll marry you."

Now the grin _was_ impossible to hide. She grinned back, leaning in to kiss him again. Walter closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her lips on his. "Here," he mumbled, "try it on." He pulled the ring out of the box and she held out her hand. "It will probably be a little big, but they'll resize it…oh," he said in surprise as the ring slid smoothly onto her finger and stayed in place.

"Look at that," Paige said, smiling down at it. "It fits already."

She still had a stray tear on her cheek, and Walter placed his hand on the side of her face, wiping it away with his thumb. She looked back up at him. "Walter, it's so perfect."

"I love you so much."

She smiled. "Even when I'm bawling my eyes out?"

"Especially then."

"At least when they're happy tears, right?" She stepped closer again, wrapping her arms back around him. "Oh God, this is the best birthday of my life."

"I'm sorry I made you cry," he whispered, holding her closer. "I was…I was assuming you would be happy, but I still…" He trailed off, not sure how he wanted to finish the sentence.

"No, it's…" she tipped her head up to look him in the eye. "You know I'm an emotional person." She gave a little laugh. "It's just…everything you said about me…it's exactly what I feel about you. And I have…I never, ever expected to be as happy as I am with you. So yeah, I'm crying, but just…" she wiped her eyes again, "don't be sorry." She placed her hand – the one with the ring – on his chest. "I love you."

"Ah, so this is another case of something actually being a compliment."

She swatted him. "Shut up." They grinned at each other.

"Um…" Ralph popped his head around the corner. "Can I come over there now?"

Paige turned toward him, one arm still around Walter, opening the other one. "Come here, buddy," Walter said, doing the same.

Ralph grinned, running into their arms.


End file.
